What Are You Reading?

seagull · 14-05-2020 4:23pm

Beanstalk wrote: »

Is Janny Wurt's other work worth getting into?

I can't remember what I've read by her, but found her easy to read at the time. I would have read her books after reading Daughter of the empire.

ec18 · 14-05-2020 4:27pm

re reading the WOT books ahead of the tv series thats due out and some of the first law world books from joe abercrombie

Xofpod · 19-05-2020 10:41am

Returning to the ol' steampunk: The Secret of Abdu el-Yezdi, Mark Hodder. The fourth in the Burton & Swinburne series. I was a bit disappointed with the last one but can't resist dipping back in after a while...

mcgovern · 19-05-2020 11:23am

I finished The Shadow Saint. It was good but not as good as The Gutter Prayer. The Tallowmen and Stonemen etc that made it stand out from other fantasy were missing in this one, replaced with some more generic fantasy staples.
Now about 1/3rd through The Human by Neal Asher, the 3rd book in The Rise of the Jain, his most recent Polity series.
Already been a huge battle with the promise of more to come so things are moving along nicely. The characters are not as good as some from the previous books (e.g. no one as interesting as Penny Royal) but it's still very good.

Fian · 20-05-2020 1:18pm

nhur wrote: »

Read it... Won't take that long! It's heavy on the science ... Its tangible as its not set in a galaxy far far away... Lot to like about it... I really enjoyed it up to a certain point and I think anyone who had read it knows the point ðŸ˜

just in an effort to increase your feelings of conflict:

I have read this, I have really enjoyed a number of Neal Stephenson novels, this wasn't one and I would like my time back. In fact I am really irritated at myself that I didn't just stop when I was absolutely clear that I wasn't enjoying it and that I persisted to the end.

Clearly there are diverging opinions thought.

KAGY · 21-05-2020 8:42am

started "snow crash" after all the Neal Stephenson talk in the last posts. Wasnt too into it at the start but finding the religion/ virus aspect interesting.

the whole corporate America thing reminded me of Jennifer Government by Max Barry.

cdgalwegian · 21-05-2020 9:16am

KAGY wrote: »

started "snow crash" after all the Neal Stephenson talk in the last posts. Wasnt too into it at the start but finding the religion/ virus aspect interesting.

the whole corporate America thing reminded me of Jennifer Government by Max Barry.

This is peak Neal Stephenson for me in terms of entertainment. It does start off a bit silly, but it sets the scene for a tongue-in-cheek hyperbolic look at future hyper-capitalism, and develops into a decent thriller. It's got some great characters and iconic moments, with a lot of clever ideas neatly woven in, as the plot develops to an epic conclusion.

Igotadose · 21-05-2020 11:51am

Not *strictly* Fantasy or Science Fiction: "Don't Panic: Douglas Adams & the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Neil Gaiman.

Didn't realize Adams was slightly involved with the Pythons (couple of cameos in episodes). Great anecdotes about making the radio show, albums and TV show. Growing up in the US, my brother somehow had heard about the radio show and we listened to it, I think on PBS/NPR somehow. Hilarious. Then the albums. Then the TV show, which frankly wasn't as great. Plus read all the books.

Also soon to start "Anathem" based on recommendations here.

Glebee · 22-05-2020 3:08pm

Anyone ever have books go missing from the kindle library. I defo bought the Joe Abercrombies Shatter Sea series over the last 6 months when its been on 99p sale. Now i notice book 1 and 3 are missing from my library and Amazon is not showing any reference to purchase... Strange

megaten · 22-05-2020 3:19pm

Glebee wrote: »

Anyone ever have books go missing from the kindle library. I defo bought the Joe Abercrombies Shatter Sea series over the last 6 months when its been on 99p sale. Now i notice book 1 and 3 are missing from my library and Amazon is not showing any reference to purchase... Strange

Not that I'm aware of, maybe try contacting them if you have the email receipt.

Buford T. Justice XIX · 24-05-2020 2:13pm

Reading 'An Ember in the Ashes(Ember Quartet, book 1)' by Sabaa Tahir atm.

Standard enough fare tbh. Not great but easy reading and the pace of the story is good.

ixoy · 24-05-2020 3:07pm

Finished:

'Children of Earth and Sky' by Guv Gavriel Kay - Beautifully written as always, Kay manages to again create depth to all his characters so that there's never anything as flimsy as a "bad guy" but differing perspectives. This one is set in the equivalent of Venice, at its height of power, and Dubrovnik with a dash of vikings. Well worth it as ever.

'Walking to Aldebaran' by Adrian Tchaikovsky - It's a sort of horror sci-fi novella set in a BDO that they got to investigate. It's told in the first person with a dash of humour, somewhat reminiscent of 'The Martian' although this a darker tale. Not his best work but it was a light read and works quite well on reflection.

'The Dread Wyrm' by Miles Cameron, the 3rd book in his Traitor Son cycle. Thought the pacing in this (a weakness of the previous two books) was much better as the events begin to unfold. The stage is bigger and the battles - a core part - are better. Cameron has a particularly great eye for the detail of a 1-on-1 sword fight (since he has studied sword fighting it's no surprise). His magic system take is interesting too. Looking forward to the next one.

'Firewalkers' by Adrian Tchaikovsky (again). His latest novella is set in a future where the earth is slowly burning up and resources dwindling. Setting it in equatorial Gabon is a nice touch and gives a different cultural flavour. The plot, at its core, is not highly original but the background helps distinguish it. Certainly room here for a sequel. He'll probably have published fifteen more books in the next two weeks...

baron von something · 31-05-2020 8:45pm

On book 3 of the Fitz & Fool trilogy by Robin Hobb. I'm not liking it very much. I really enjoyed both the Farseer trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy but this is like it's been written by another author altogether

alchemist33 · 31-05-2020 8:50pm

I've read most of John Scalzi's "Old Man's War." It's a bit disappointing, tbh. Despite many good ideas, 70% of the storyline is a formulaic military sign-up-and-get-trained, and after that it's very episodic. It can also get very dialogue-heavy with dialogue tags used like they were on a discount sale. It feels like more of a set-up for subsequent novels, but if its more of the same I won't get any more.

alchemist33 · 31-05-2020 8:53pm

ixoy wrote: »

That'd be Janny Wurt's influence (co-writer on the trilogy). She's much more into epic, as can be seen in her Wars of Light and Shadow series.
Mara of the Acoma is one of the greats of fantasy IMO. It's a real shame that there was no follow up series or even a deeper exploration of Kelewan.

I like to think 3 books were enough, leaving it as a flawless series. One of my all-time favourites

Fian · 02-06-2020 3:30pm

finished "The Monster Baru Cormorant"

Not as surprising as "traitor" since obviously the fact that the hero was an accountant/bureaucrat was already established but i enjoyed it. I think I read some people who felt the sequel was a disappointment after the first, but I didn't think so. The Cancrioth is another innovative and surprising concept too.

Just started "the book of Koli" which is starting well, only a few pages in. I have the final wolf hall book to read but I will start that after this one I think. I enjoyed "the Girl with all the gifts" from this author previously.

Surprisingly, even though I am working from home and in theory should have much more time on my hands, I am reading less rather than more since the lockdown.

mcgovern · 02-06-2020 3:39pm

Finished the Human by Neal Asher. Just when you think he can't escalate things any further he finds a away

Also leaves it open for further books.

Now reading The Invasion by Peadair O'Guillan. It's kinda YA Hunger Games set in Ireland with evil Faeries and is the second book in the series.
To be honest without the Irish connection I wouldn't have bothered with it at all. The characters are a bit flat and half the people left alive seem to be not Irish somehow (it's more surprising as

Ireland has been completely cut off from the rest of the world for 25 years or so

but at the sametime it is a page turner.

nhur · 03-06-2020 10:32pm

nhur wrote: »

Hey folks - first of all - thanks - i've been compiling lists of books to read from this thread for ages!
...

Questions for the group:
1. If I was to read more Star Wars... any suggestions of what to read next?
2. With alll the talk of Anathem - it's jumped to the top of my list... do I need to read other Stephenson books first? (Baroque cycle etc) - I've read Seveneves and enjoyed most of it... but haven't read any others of his I think

so... only a few pages to go in Anathem. You good folks were correct... Amazing. it's like Sci-Fi and Sophie's World wrote a book together.

so... what next ? baroque cycle?

Thargor · 03-06-2020 11:54pm

Anathem was so good, 3 books later Im struggling to remember what I read since.

Gary kk · 05-06-2020 4:04pm

The way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is worth a read.

Fian · 10-06-2020 3:28pm

Gary kk wrote: »

The way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is worth a read.

Very understated.

I am nearly finished "the book of koli". It is very good, it is YA but well written and well worth reading and I am looking forward to the sequel.

Set in a dystopian post-war future England, where those who can obtain/activate surviving technology are the equivalent of wizards/rulers. Particularly as those without access to such weapons need to be protected from a world full of leftover drones and deadly bio-engineered flora and fauna.

ixoy · 14-06-2020 1:41pm

Some more books finished:

"Mirror Dance" by Lois McMaster-Bujold, the 8th book in the Vorkosigan Saga depending on how you order them. Thought this was an excellent installment, possibly the best so far and it dealt very well with events from the previous. Bujold's great with her characterisation here and the writing, as ever, is a cut above most of the genre. Definitely a strong series.

"Soulsmith" by Will Wight, the second book in his Cradle series, which is part of the Wuxia-genre (strong mystical Asian-influenced books). A short snappy read which was a lot of fun and a step up from the previous book. 5 more books to go, although one book is about a 1/4 of the length of a standard fantasy tome.

"False Gods" by Graham McNeill, the second book in the Horus trilogy. Acclaimed as these are for Warhammer 40k novels, I found it hard to get involved. Too much descriptions of battle suits,not enough to distinguish characters. The writing is pretty decent and there's some interesting ideas but I was a little bored. Maybe the 40k universe isn't for me (and I've got loads of them due to Humble Bundle offers).

"The Heart of What was Lost" by Tad Williams is a novella set between "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" and his new fantasy series set in the same world. "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" - which I read decades ago now - was a classic for me and helped shape the genre (it was influential for the likes of GRRM). Really liked this - it told its story very well, pacing was spot on, time for proper characterisation and importantly neatly re-introduced the world. An excellent example of a bridging novella.

"Blood of Empire" by Brian McClellan, the final book in his "Gods of Blood and Powder" trilogy. I liked this one but I think it fell at the final hurdle. There was a lot of build up and the various strands tied together but in a rushed way with a little bit of an ex-Machina ending. So a sort of disappointing end which doesn't really negate the fact that the series overall was very enjoyable.

14-06-2020 4:32pm

Re read Magician yesterday. Very long time since I read it last and it's as brilliant as ever. Really good writing. Stuck in my brain along with the empire trilogy.
Got fed up trying to read absolute dross, i tried Thinblade yesterday also but it's just not great so gave up.
Reading a free sample of The Time Ships now, not bad

seagull · 15-06-2020 3:09pm

I felt towards the end that Feist had pushed it too far and the series was starting to feel a little stale. The recurrent thing about Pug losing everyone he loved was also becoming a little tiresome.

15-06-2020 3:27pm

seagull wrote: »

I felt towards the end that Feist had pushed it too far and the series was starting to feel a little stale. The recurrent thing about Pug losing everyone he loved was also becoming a little tiresome.

I think i only ever got a hold of one sequel or so, didn't follow it along. I might try it again now that I can just stick them on the kindle in the right order

lordgoat · 29-06-2020 9:28pm

Decided to re-read all of Feist. Loving it all, nice easy enjoyable romps.

groovie · 08-07-2020 12:38pm

Hello, I'm reading WOT book 3, and I like it.

Igotadose · 08-07-2020 3:55pm

Just finished "The Knight" and "The Wizard" by Gene Wolfe. Not new books, early 2000's. Typical Gene Wolfe - well written, someone has amnesia (or something like it), inter-dimensional travel, weird monsters and weird motivations for the central characters.

Glebee · 09-07-2020 1:13pm

The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie.
Reminds me why I love The First Law world setting/story arc. Excellent story that gets straight into the action. I really love Abercrombies stuff...

donegal_man · 09-07-2020 10:36pm

Glebee wrote: »

The Heroes - Joe Abercrombie...

Probably my favourite post First Law Abercrombie book. Each character is so well painted it's like spending time with them.

Xofpod · 14-07-2020 4:40pm

The Fifth Season, NK Jemisin.. About a third of the way in and loving it. Fantastic world building and really gripped by the different plot threads. Can definitely see myself following with the other books.

Thargor · 14-07-2020 6:22pm

Xofpod wrote: »

The Fifth Season, NK Jemisin.. About a third of the way in and loving it. Fantastic world building and really gripped by the different plot threads. Can definitely see myself following with the other books.

Great series, tore through it.

Anyone read Cavern of Black Ice and it's sequels? Found the series today and it sounds good. Read a few comments online that it would have been a very famous series if it wasn't constantly being overshadowed by new Game of Thrones books releasing at the same time back in the day.

Jayd0g · 14-07-2020 8:08pm

Xofpod wrote: »

The Fifth Season, NK Jemisin.. About a third of the way in and loving it. Fantastic world building and really gripped by the different plot threads. Can definitely see myself following with the other books.

Loaded this up today, looks promising!

Lady Haywire · 14-07-2020 9:52pm

Jayd0g wrote: »

Loaded this up today, looks promising!

I loved that series. Enjoy!

I've been faffing about on Scribd reading everything & anything these days. Cogheart books, finished Fred the Vampire Accountant books, all the Creepy Hollow books by Rachel Morgan.
Sarah Rockwood's Phoenix series was probably the stand out one so far in my random reading.

RMDrive · 14-07-2020 10:26pm

Just finished ... Seveneves (reading) - loved it, particularly the first part ... and The Three Body Problem (audible) - good, not great.

Just started ... Anathem - good god the start has way too much architecture in it ... and The Traitor Baru Cormorant (audible) - not loving the reader's style.

Thargor · 14-07-2020 11:00pm

RMDrive wrote: »

Just finished ... Seveneves (reading) - loved it, particularly the first part ... and The Three Body Problem (audible) - good, not great.

Just started ... Anathem - good god the start has way too much architecture in it ... and The Traitor Baru Cormorant (audible) - not loving the reader's style.

Seveneves I thought was the best science fiction Id read in years but then I read Anathem, stick with them, mindblowing books.

Manach · 14-07-2020 11:06pm

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher. Its been so long, so long.

ixoy · 15-07-2020 12:22am

Thargor wrote: »

Anyone read Cavern of Black Ice and it's sequels? Found the series today and it sounds good.

Yep and I enjoyed it. In fact a poster took their username from one of the books. It's set in the same world as her 'Sword of Shadows' series and you'd lose something by not reading this first.

However, there's one huge caveat, and that is that it's not finished and the last book came out in 2010. J.V. Jones has suffered, I believe, some issues and is slowly (very slowly) getting back to writing. She's working on the next book (which I think would be the final) but it's not guaranteed. Just be warned.

nhur · 15-07-2020 12:23am

Thargor wrote: »

Seveneves I thought was the best science fiction Id read in years but then I read Anathem, stick with them, mindblowing books.

I'll back you up on Anathem 100%! (Seveneves... Not 100%... Maybe 80%

)
Really looking forward to rereading it as I think I'll enjoy the start more having read it...
Loving Cryptonomicon atm... Really like his style of writing.

ixoy · 15-07-2020 12:32am

Read recently:

'The Last Emperox', the final book in John Scalzi's 'The Interdependency' trilogy. I was a bit disappointed with this one. I found Scalzi too often had characters summarise their actions ('Previously on..'), which was distracting, and it ended a bit weakly (there's no follow up planned). Humour was still good and it's a quick read, but didn't become memorable.

'Under the Skin' by Michel Faber. Bearing little resemblance to the film spun out of it, it's an interesting read let down by a rather abrupt ending. The sense of alienation in it is well done but I'd have liked a bit more of an exploration of the lead character's origins. It all felt a little flat in the end, although I'll give Faber some dues for having decent prose.

'The Poison Song' by Max Gladstone. This is the sixth book in the Craft series. I like the world he's created but this time it was a bit let down by a similarity with China Mielville's far superior 'The City and the City' as it too featured the idea of two cities existing in the same space, the version of which you see depending on your beliefs. It also took too long for the reveals when it could have teased them out more.

'The Poison Song' by Jen Williams, the final book in her 'The Winnowing Flame' trilogy. Excellent conclusion to a series I really liked that had some great twists on familiar tropes, such as vampire elves and alien life forms. It tied together all previous plots well, the characters (who I liked) all had their arcs concluded in a fitting manner and it had some strong action sequences. Definitely interested in seeing what she does next.

mcgovern · 15-07-2020 9:07am

Finished a few books recently.
Priest of Lies by Peter McLean. If continues to closely resemble Peaky Blinders but skips a few seasons and has the added plot of a quiet war between two countries which the main character is dragged into. It is quite good and I'm looking forward to the inevititable sequel.
After that it was Bone Silence by Alastair Reynolds, the 3rd and final book in his YA space pirate series. This continued the form of the others in the series in that it was a really interesting universe, but quite a boring plot. After 3 books I still couldn't tell the two main characters apart and most of the other characters were instantly forgetable.
Followed that by Spiderlight by Adrian Tchaikovsky. A spider turned humanoid to help fufill a prophecy. This is the weakest of Tchaikovsky's books I've read. I guess it is more about prejudice and belief, but large parts were bland, and apart from one large, unseen plot twist, the ending was fairly signposted.
Next up was The Fisherman by John Langan, which is a horror rather than SF/F. There are basically two entwined stories. One set in present times and another set 100 years ago. The one in the past is much more fleshed out and better told. If it was just that one I'd probably give it 5/5 but overall it's still a solid 4/5.
No reading We Are Legion by Denis E. Taylor. It's about an engineer who wakes up 150 years in the future but his mind is now running on a computer. It's a good easy read so far.

Thargor · 15-07-2020 10:51am

ixoy wrote: »

Yep and I enjoyed it. In fact a poster took their username from one of the books. It's set in the same world as her 'Sword of Shadows' series and you'd lose something by not reading this first.

However, there's one huge caveat, and that is that it's not finished and the last book came out in 2010. J.V. Jones has suffered, I believe, some issues and is slowly (very slowly) getting back to writing. She's working on the next book (which I think would be the final) but it's not guaranteed. Just be warned.

Ah okay I'll put it on hold then and look into the other series, thanks for that.

keane2097 · 15-07-2020 12:33pm

Manach wrote: »

Peace Talks by Jim Butcher. Its been so long, so long.

Didn't know that was out, happy days! Another one coming in three months too apparently.

keane2097 · 21-07-2020 2:54pm

I'm listening to Rendezvous With Rama on Audible while reading summaries of the Dresden Files books to remind myself of the story-lines. I often expect classic sci-fi to be a bit ****e and I'm always wrong. RWR is absolutely class 70% of the way through, as was Ringworld, as was Stars My Destination, as was anything by Asimov I ever picked up. I must try to remember this.

Trojan · 21-07-2020 4:25pm

Rendezvous With Rama: class. I think that was Clarke at his best.

Igotadose · 21-07-2020 5:04pm

Thargor wrote: »

Great series, tore through it.

Anyone read Cavern of Black Ice and it's sequels? Found the series today and it sounds good. Read a few comments online that it would have been a very famous series if it wasn't constantly being overshadowed by new Game of Thrones books releasing at the same time back in the day.

Got about 1/3 through "Cavern of Black Ice" and gave up. To each their own, but the writer leaves a lot to be desired. Lines like "Her skin shone like buttered toast" are pretty pathetic imo. Also, fair number of misused/inappropriate words, a sign of bad editing, one that jumps to mind was "The ancient wood had been treated with preserves." That made me laugh out loud - strawberry? raspberry? Preservatives is what was wanted.

keane2097 · 22-07-2020 12:15pm

keane2097 wrote: »

I'm listening to Rendezvous With Rama on Audible while reading summaries of the Dresden Files books to remind myself of the story-lines. I often expect classic sci-fi to be a bit ****e and I'm always wrong. RWR is absolutely class 70% of the way through, as was Ringworld, as was Stars My Destination, as was anything by Asimov I ever picked up. I must try to remember this.

Finished RWR last night and the ending was very satisfying. My Goodreads review is 'Just perfect' which sums it up. The follow-ups written by some other chap - yay or nay?

I've started the new Dresden Files book on Audible now. They're good craic.

cdgalwegian · 22-07-2020 7:29pm

keane2097 wrote: »

I'm listening to Rendezvous With Rama on Audible while reading summaries of the Dresden Files books to remind myself of the story-lines. I often expect classic sci-fi to be a bit ****e and I'm always wrong. RWR is absolutely class 70% of the way through, as was Ringworld, as was Stars My Destination, as was anything by Asimov I ever picked up. I must try to remember this.

I stayed away from Asimov thinking the same. Must give him a try.

Trojan · 22-07-2020 10:51pm

Just on the classic sf buzz, I am not currently re-reading "A Fall of Moondust" by Clarke, but it should be on my list. For me it's one of the best in its class (in and out of sf genre).

Igotadose · 23-07-2020 7:50am

Trojan wrote: »

Just on the classic sf buzz, I am not currently re-reading "A Fall of Moondust" by Clarke, but it should be on my list. For me it's one of the best in its class (in and out of sf genre).

Ray Bradbury's one I'd recommend for great classic SF that's brilliantly written.

What Are You Reading?

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